Factory employee charged with arson

A man was charged with arson yesterday after police said he had confessed to attempting to burn down the same factory in Phnom Penh on three separate occasions because he was unhappy with his wages.

The Phnom Penh Municipal Court charged 21-year-old Ngoung Chamnan, formerly the material manager at the PPM pharmaceutical factory, for attempting to burn down the Dangkor district facility on April 26, May 23 and May 24.

“He was charged with intentionally setting fire to the PPM factory,” municipal court prosecutor Ek Chheng Hourt said.

Pol Ratana, deputy director of the penal department at the Ministry of Interior, said yesterday that Ngoung Chamnan had lit the fires because of frustration that his salary was lower than his predecessor’s. He added that police had not suspected that the fires were caused by arson prior to Ngoung Chamnan’s alleged confession.

PPM president Hay Lay Eang said the suspect’s alleged actions were unacceptable.

“He said he was upset over his salary, but he never complained to us about it,” Hay Lay Eang said.